The Authors’ Zone as a Map of Contemporary Questions

A conference of ideas with an Authors’ Zone and its guests

The Authors’ Zone is an integral part of this year’s Holistic Talk conference of ideas. For several hours, the foyer of Cavatina Hall will become a meeting place for authors. Participants will be able to speak with them in person, ask questions, collect autographs, and buy their books. The program also includes a series of short conversations led by Holistic News editors on the small stage.

The diversity of the meetings reflects the line-up of the Authors’ Zone itself. Fantasy literature, reportage, music, social psychology, astronomy, and geopolitics will appear side by side. Each invited author deals with a different fragment of reality, allowing the program to move between subjects and perspectives.

One of them is Dariusz Jaroń, a journalist and reporter whose books tell the stories of people who take on extreme challenges. He is the author of, among others, Polscy himalaiści and Skoczkowie. Przerwany lot.

Another perspective comes from Szymon Pękala, creator of the project “Wojna Idei,” who analyzes social mechanisms and the ways people form and change their beliefs. Meanwhile, Jacek Piekara, one of Poland’s most popular fantasy writers, is best known for his Inquisitor Cycle.

The invited creators also include Andrzej Kucybała, a conductor and educator, co-author of the monograph Jan Smeterlin. Zapomniany wirtuoz fortepianu. Alongside authors representing literature, reportage, and music, the program will also feature guests who work on security and Eastern policy. This thread leads directly to Wojciech Kozioł and the geopolitical part of the program.

Wojciech Kozioł on geopolitics and security

Wojciech Kozioł is an editor at Defence24 and a political scientist specializing in the geopolitics of Central and Eastern Europe. He co-authored Wojna, której nie chcemy, a book devoted to the defensive condition of the state and society. During Holistic Talk, visitors will be able to meet him in the Authors’ Zone and talk about Poland’s security, the situation in the region, and changes taking place in the European security order.

This subject has changed its place in public debate significantly in recent years. Russia’s war against Ukraine, the strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank, the policies of Russia and Belarus, and cooperation among Central and Eastern European states have made questions about regional security part of everyday conversations about Europe’s future.

The very meaning of security is also changing. Alongside military capability, state resilience, protection of critical infrastructure, energy security, cybersecurity, and society’s preparedness for crisis situations are becoming increasingly important.

The geopolitics of Central and Eastern Europe

Wojciech Kozioł’s perspective focuses on the region in which Poland is located. Central and Eastern Europe has become one of the most important areas of European security policy. The war in Ukraine, the situation in Belarus, Russia’s actions, the strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank, and cooperation among the states of the region all influence strategic decisions made in Warsaw and other European capitals.

A conversation about geopolitics may therefore touch on current events as well as broader processes: Poland’s position in the region, relations with its neighbors, the future of the European security system, and the state’s preparation for crisis situations.

Together with his co-authors of Wojna, której nie chcemy, Kozioł also looks at how the state and society prepare for a situation of danger. This perspective allows us to think about security more broadly than only through the lens of the army and weapons.

The meeting in the Authors’ Zone will offer an opportunity to ask about these issues directly and discuss them in the context of events that are changing Europe’s situation.

Bartłomiej Wypartowicz and a view toward the East

The second important figure in the geopolitical part of the Authors’ Zone will be Bartłomiej Wypartowicz, an editor at Defence24 and a security analyst. He specializes in Eastern policy and military issues.

He is the author of Między Bugiem a prawdą, in which he analyzes the situation in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. His presence complements Kozioł’s perspective with a more detailed view of Poland’s eastern neighborhood.

Both authors deal with subjects that, in recent years, have stopped belonging to the distant field of strategic analysis. Regional security now affects state policy, the economy, energy, and the functioning of societies.

From fantasy to reportage

Geopolitics will be one of the important themes of the Authors’ Zone, but the program reaches much further.

Jacek Piekara represents fantasy literature and commentary. Dariusz Jaroń brings readers closer to the stories of Himalayan climbers and athletes. Szymon Pękala takes up subjects connected with social mechanisms and rational thinking. Andrzej Kucybała speaks about music and the figures who left their mark on its history.

The Authors’ Zone will also include conversations led by Holistic News editors. They will focus on books, the authors’ interests, and the behind-the-scenes work of writing. The audience will be able to ask questions and take part in the conversation.

A program built in this way allows visitors to move between subjects that usually function separately. Literature meets reportage, music history meets social psychology, and conversations about books meet discussions about Poland’s security and the geopolitics of Central and Eastern Europe.

Holistic Talk 2026 at Cavatina Hall

The third edition of Holistic Talk, a conference of ideas, will take place on 24 October 2026 at Cavatina Hall in Bielsko-Biała.

The main-stage event will open with Jaśmina Nowak, a Radio Wnet journalist who specializes in international politics. Immediately afterward, the audience will have the opportunity to hear a concert performed by a string quartet from the Cavatina Philharmonic Orchestra. It will be a metaphysical journey through film soundtracks.

The speakers will then take the stage, with talks touching on both the cosmos and the human psyche. Astronomer Radosław Ambroży will take the audience on a journey through the Universe. Later, there will be a remote conversation with Dr. Ewa Woydyłło-Osiatyńska, an eminent psychologist and psychotherapist who has spent decades teaching Poles the art of conscious living. Her reflection, titled Not Everything Has to Be Carried Forward: On the Art of a Good Life, will offer a chance to consider how to build inner strength and live in harmony with oneself.

Przemysław Wójtowicz will also share his experiences. A former soldier and author of books about war, he will address its psychological consequences. Joanna Sadzik, president of the Wiosna Association, will speak about the sources of human goodness and wise helping.

The Authors’ Zone will operate from 15:30 to 18:15. The program includes meetings with authors, conversations on the small stage, and the opportunity to buy books and collect autographs. After the open part of the event ends, a closed dinner is planned for invited guests and VIP ticket holders.

Tickets for the event are available here.

The patrons of the event are Resi Capital and Cavatina.

Read this article in Polish: Podróże, idee i geopolityka. Strefa Autorów Holistic Talk 2026